


Tetractys

by Sol1056



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Accelerated humanity, Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Butchered scientific theory, Female gundam pilots, Global warfare, Mecha, Mecha reduxes, Multi, Multiple Pairings, Multiple Universes Colliding, Paranormal skills, Politics, Post-Canon, Rebellion, Significant battle scenes, Slow Burn, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 20:17:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13689045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sol1056/pseuds/Sol1056
Summary: In a reality where Kushrenada won, the five gundam pilots live a half-life, effectively prisoners. An unexpected chance at freedom may let them regain what they'd lost, but it also means a return to battle. Some things, once lost, cannot be regained. | Significant rewrite of original version.On the video, a blast from the Gundam's flamethrower shook the Mobile Suit, and it wavered before leaping upwards. As it did, the metallic gleam of wings spread out from behind it, and it contorted from a boxy humanoid shape into something roughly similar to Wing's bird-form. This form, however, kept its arms down, almost like claws, while the rest of the body folded up, leaving only a long tail and a set of two-level wings. The wings flapped, and the mobile suit arched, moving fluidly. Flames shot from the mobile suit's headpiece."The wings are verniers," Lena explained. "Double rows, which are calibrated in mid-flight by the pumping action of the wings.""That's a Long," Doro said."Long," Trowa repeated, his eyes fixed on the screen.Doro nodded. "In this world, we fight dragons."





	Tetractys

Kushrenada shifted in the chair, the high collar of the required court clothing itching at his neck. He frowned, trying to concentrate on the minister currently droning on about shuttle paths between the LaGrange Points, and checked the agenda notes on the table in front of him. He was only in his mid-thirties, and his ascent to power had raised a number of comparisons to emperors in the past that had risen and fallen with mighty swells. Days like this, though, he felt ancient.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs cleared his throat. "Emperor Krushrenada, if you'd be so kind as to review this document." The tall man stepped forward, handing the document to the Imperial Administrator, who crossed the distance to set it before Krushrenada. The Emperor leaned forward to accept the document, and the administrator's amused smile, returning it with one of his own before scanning the document.

Another minister was already pontificating on its importance, and Krushrenada wasn't surprised to hear protests from Minister Noventa. How much longer of this drivel? Krushrenada was tempted to lock them all in the hall and leave them there until they agreed. Then maybe he'd leave him alone. He leaned back in his seat, just barely able to see the Imperial Rose Gardens from his seat above the mass of delegates at their tables. Busy little stagehands. Always hoping that some day they'll have a chance to stand up before the audience.

He sighed, and paid attention with only half his mind to Minister Noventa's explanations about the agro-economic damage from Northern Europe's drought the year before. Idly he sorted through the documents, his hand pausing over one neatly written request for time off. Krushrenada stifled a smile, reminded of his five men-at-arms, as he liked to think of them. The sixth, of course, was nearly always at his side; at that moment, Marquise was diplomatically steering the debate away from a discussion on fixed prices in the Pan-Pacific regions.

Unsurprisingly, the first signature was Heero Yuy's, as always. The de facto field leader of the team, the young man had grown into an awe-inspiring soldier, his abilities finely honed over the years in Krushrenada's service. He'd never grown out of his boyish looks, though, with that messy brown hair that refused to settle for a military appearance. Krushrenada had no problem with Zechs', or even Duo's, appearance, so Heero's rebellious hair was the least of his worries. It was almost a pity Marquise's sister hadn't survived; there would have been yet another young woman added to the many already clamoring for Yuy's attention. Unfortunately for that group, Yuy was devoted to his partners.

Like Duo Maxwell, the reprobate. Maxwell had spent the first two years giving the emperor a wide berth before gradually accepting friendship. Even now Duo preferred to stay in the background, letting his quick jibes be the limit of his conversation. He had no problem letting his partners talk for him, though Krushrenada had been on the wrong end of Maxwell's political diatribes once or twice. Kushrenada winced at the memory. Maxwell was probably the savviest of the five, when it came to politics.

Krushrenada looked up to see Zechs watching him closely. Marquise nodded at the unspoken command, and called for the next presenting Minister. Krushrenada accepted several more documents, signing off quickly on two before allowing debate on the third. His mind, however, wandered back to his men-at-arms.

He'd never expected Maxwell to get so tall; Maxwell was still the most slender of the five, but somehow his height was still no impediment to moving freely through the Imperial palace, even in areas theoretically off-limits. He'd taken to leaving a single strand of hair as his calling card in the most unusual of places. Given he was the only one with chestnut-brown hair easily a yard long, it was never hard to determine the culprit. There were definitely times Kushrenada wondered if it'd been a mistake to insist Maxwell improve his talent. No, he wouldn't trade the man's abilities for a corps of trained soldiers.

Thoughts of Maxwell and Yuy always raised thoughts of Barton, although it had long been known in the palace that Barton wasn't the man's real name. Krushrenada had had extensive searches done, only to discover that Barton's entire family had died as a child, excepting one surviving sister. She'd died in an attack on Northern Europe during the Nine Day War, and Barton had decided to keep his assumed name rather than deal with old ghosts.

Auburn-haired and tanned, Barton was the tallest of the pilots, an inch over Krushrenada's own height, muscled but in a lean gymnastic way. Yet with his amazing affability, it never seemed as though he looked down on any. That compassionate nature was only one of the two reasons he was the team's point man for all operations.

"Your Excellency," Minister Schweig was saying. "I'd like to present my associate, the representative of the Siberian region..."

Krushrenada listened, nodding politely and offering his congratulations automatically at the appointment. The new assistant minister replied with a short but flowery speech about her position and goals. Kushrenada kept the polite smile on his face, though he was struck again by the notion that someone must be writing such speeches and selling them. Insert name and position here. One glance at Marquise told him that his assistant was probably thinking the same thing.

The ministers were riled up about the next four proposals, and Kushrenada regretted not arranging for Winner to be present. The fourth of his men-at-arms, Quatre Winner's talent was indisputably the most powerful of the five. Rivalling Maxwell in height, Winner was a favorite among the court, with his broad shoulders, blond hair, sea-blue eyes, and classic good looks. Like Yuy, however, he was devoted to his partner. Unlike Yuy, Winner knew how to let his pursuers down gently, a smile to soften the blow.

None of that had rubbed off on Chang. Of the five, Chang was still the most fiery, with no problem speaking his mind where even Maxwell would hang back to listen. Each time Krushrenada had ruled on particularly controversial situations, Chang was the first in his office, demanding an explanation if the ruling were illogical or unjust. Perhaps another talent Kushrenada would've been wiser to suppress rather than encourage. While Chang and Winner were predominantly strategy and tactics for the team, Chang also had duties attending the Imperial court, the few times each month it was in session. The emperor was often exempt, except for cases of high treason, which had thankfully died down over the past five years.

Five years of peace. Krushrenada pulled Winner's handwritten document from the bottom of the stack. His gaze studied the graceful but powerful hand, the loops of a G, the hard downward stroke of an I. It was peace, and they were bored. Marquise called the morning's meeting to a close, and Kushrenada stifled the sigh. He couldn't blame the five. He was pretty damn bored, himself.

 

 

 

 

Duo strolled into their meeting room in the Imperial quarters. Wufei looked up, snorted, and returned his attention to the books spread open before him. Quatre set down his tablet with a smile, brightening the room momentarily.

"I'm beat." Duo dropped onto the loveseat in the corner. He slouched down, catching a nearby chair with his foot and dragging it closer. "How many more days?" He propped one booted foot up on the chair, and slung his other leg over the loveseat's arm. He pulled his long braid out from behind him, playing idly with the tip, brushing it against the palm of his hand while he waited for his partners to arrive.

"Nine, unless there's an emergency. Chang's double-checking now," Quatre said. "We've been reviewing the reports from Chile. So far three people have gone missing."

"Another search and rescue?" A deeper voice could be heard in the doorway, and Trowa joined them. He tapped on Duo's knee, waiting until the leg was moved before he sat on the arm. He rested his hand on Duo' s shoulder for a minute, and his green eyes brightened in surprise. "How soon do we ship out?"

"As soon as we can get permission. We interviewed the third hiker this morning." Wufei removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"And?" Trowa glanced down at Duo, who shrugged.

"Their reports are true, Barton." Wufei replied. "As crazy as it sounds."

"Or they simply believe what they say to be the truth," Duo said. He ignored Wufei's irritated look. It was a lot easier than it'd once been, but then again, he could use the amusement. "Can we get just the footnotes, this time—"

"Where's Yuy?" Quatre asked, as if anyone was fooled. He didn't mediate the frequent arguments between Wufei and Duo—that was Trowa's area—but Quatre would divert them, given the chance.

"What did I miss?" Yuy entered, shutting the door behind him. He stepped to the table, glancing down at Wufei's books with a frown. "More myths."

"Not this time," Quatre said. "Chile, in the mountains. Search and rescue's failed, but five of the rescue team came back with some curious reports."

"And?" Heero studied the open texts with idle curiosity. His white shirt was open at the collar, sleeves were rolled up past the elbows. He turned, resting a hip against the table, and crossed his arms as he waited for an explanation.

Duo saw the threads flicker in the corner of his vision, and knew what it meant. He groaned. "Anyone want to talk to Zechs right now?"

"Not particularly," Wufei answered.

The vid-phone on the table rang, and fell silent halfway through the second ring.

"Bless you, Yuy," Duo drawled. "Knew there was a reason we kept you around."

 

 

 

"They hung up, your Excellency," Marquise reported. "Duo and Heero must be with them."

Kushrenada laughed and stripped off his formal coat, handing it to his valet, who shook it out before hanging it up. "I keep reminding myself their hatred of vid-phones is a small price to pay."

"Should I go down and get them? Quatre was supposed to have the reports on their last mission done by now."

"Let them alone for now. I'd expect they're plotting what to do with this year's time off." Kushrenada grinned, sitting down to let his valet pull off his boots.

"They've done mountain climbing, and space walking, and deep sea exploration," Zechs said, ticking the list off his fingers. "I wonder if they'd ever contemplate the value of taking a long, relaxing time on the beach."

"Those five?" Krushrenada laughed. "I don't think they know the meaning of the word."

 

 

 

Heero looked up from his list as Duo wandered into the living quarters Heero shared with Trowa and Duo.

"It's the packing part I hate," Duo said, flipping the wooden chair around to straddle the seat, arms folded across the top. "Sure we can't have someone else do it?"

Trowa gave him a little smile and ducked his head to study the shopping list again. Like Wufei, Trowa preferred the old-fashioned method of handwritten lists. Heero scrolled through the list on his tablet, revising as Wufei had suggested.

"It's not really the most scientific conclusion," Duo said after a few minutes. Outside the windows, the day's usual business carried on, ministers and assistants moving across the Imperial grounds, the seat of Kushrenada's power. "The theory's been around for four hundred years and it's still just a theory. Hell, just getting close to a singularity would slow down time, along with space. It'd take an infinity just to get up next to the damn thing."

"It's a theory," Heero said. "While that specific theory may not fit the situation, the anomaly is worth investigating."

"Oh, sure. The only comparable situations are ones Chang's dragged out of books that predate the Space Age, let alone the Colony Age. He's a great scholar, I'll be the first to admit, but he sucks at quantum physics."

"Another concept debunked two hundred years ago," Trowa said, and tapped in another addition to his list.

"Only the mathematical basis," Duo said, cheerfully. "The mechanics are sound. You really should read the Selway papers on it."

"They're nothing like any mechanics I've ever seen," Trowa replied under his breath, low enough Duo could ignore it.

Heero gave Trowa a quick grin over Duo's head.

"Face it, black holes are still, well...one big black hole in our understanding of the universe. For that matter, the whole north-south designation is ridiculous, now that I think of it," Duo mused. "It's not like the universe has a top and a bottom. Worm holes are a notion you can still find in science fiction, but it's still just fiction. Assuming you could even get to a black hole—what with the time and space issues—getting through it would mean you'd be squashed down to an infinitesimal point of infinite length. I don't know about you, but I have no interest in being stretched out like a strand of hair just to see what's on the other side of a black hole."

"The rest of the universe," Heero answered flatly.

"Which wouldn't do you much good, now that you're nothing more than a long, thin string of molecular matter. Beyond molecular," Duo amended. "Down to the quark. And this is ignoring the fact that you can't have a mini-black hole just show up somewhere. It just doesn't work like that."

"Maxwell, shut up. Some of us are trying to get ready for this trip. Go see if Chang or Winner needs you."

"Not my problem you're a packrat and have to take your whole life everywhere you go." Duo got up. In a smooth motion he flipped the chair around and shoved it back under the table. Heero looked up, and Duo scowled. "Don't even try it, buddy."

Just to make a point, Heero let his mind reach for the door, holding it in place. Duo tugged once, rolled his eyes, and stomped out. Heero let the door swing freely to shut right behind Duo.

Trowa sighed. "You shouldn't provoke him by making decisions so far ahead."

"I wasn't." Heero held out his hand for Trowa's pen, which rolled across the table and into his grasp. "He's just easy to bait."

"It's your night tonight. You fire him up, you'll be sleeping on the sofa." Trowa snagged his pen back, brushing Heero's fingers at the same time. He raised his eyebrows. "Oh, is that how it goes?"

Heero grinned, and bent his head to his list again.

 

 

 

"Pre-colony, about two hundred years," Wufei reported, removing his glasses and cleaning them on the hem of his white shirt.

"You're going to scratch them if you keep doing that," Quatre said without looking up.

"You keep that up, and I'll start to wonder about your friendship with Maxwell," Wufei said wryly. He put the glasses back on and pulled another book closer, frowning at it for a second before looking up. "The one I want is always on the top shelf."

"No, you cannot call Yuy. You're getting lazy."

"I didn't see you calling me lazy this morning."

"How could you have seen anything? Your eyes were closed the whole time."

"Were not." Wufei made a face and bent back to the text for several minutes.

Quatre's smile faded as he watched the calculations scroll down the screen. "There's no correlation. Maxwell had a point. The symptoms may be similar, but there's simply no precedent for such a phenomenon on this small a scale." He sighed and leaned his elbow on the table, resting his chin on one fist. "I'm no use here, I'm afraid."

"You're every use," Wufei replied calmly. "I can't plan this without your help. Those hikers knew what they saw and they were telling us, as best they could, what it was."

"They were terrified. I'm not sure how you could get past that overwhelming feeling." Quatre shuddered.

"Focus on the task. There are histories and word-of-mouth contemporary reports that mimic what they found. But it's not until a year ago that we had any reports this century."

"Aliens," Quatre muttered. "Maxwell reads too much."

"He's carnivorous when it comes to books. It's just your bad luck he reads only fiction."

"My bad luck?" Quatre raised his eyebrows. "You think this is funny."

"You know it's true." Wufei sighed. "Perhaps we should have just asked them to go hiking with us."

"In Chile."

"Sure."

"Where three hikers have already disappeared."

"We could have said it's a search-and-rescue mission."

Quatre rolled his eyes. "Even Barton wouldn't believe that one, given that the hikers have been gone for a month."

Wufei shrugged. "Whatever excuse Maxwell brings up, it's still a singularity. The compression and slowing of time, the change in weight, the shift in light and sound..."

There was a knock at the door, and Duo stuck his head in. "I was sent to find out if you need anything from me. Like...help, or something."

Wufei raised his eyebrows. "Not sure. Will we?"

Duo screwed up his face, then grinned. "Maybe yes, maybe no, and not worried about it, but there is a pie down in the kitchen that's not going to end up on Treize's table if I have any say in the matter." He waved and spun in the doorway, braid flying out behind him.

Quatre didn't quite muffle his laugh, and Wufei shook his head in disgust. "Come on. There's no way I'm letting Maxwell hog the whole pie."

"After all the effort he'll go through? I'd say that's a fine reward." Quatre leaned back and propped his feet up on the table, grinning.

"I can't let him act without backup." Wufei dug in his pockets, finally finding a hair-tie. He pulled his hair back and snapped the tie around the ponytail.

"This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with the fact that you adore apple pie." Quatre laced his fingers together behind his head. Wufei grunted, and Quatre's grin grew even wider. "Yeah, I thought so. Well, go on. I'm sure he's waiting just around the corner for you."

Wufei waved over his shoulder and stepped into the hallway. Quatre's words drifted towards him as he pulled the door shut.

"Bring me back a piece..."


End file.
